Xmethod o of and apparatus for-bgssemerizinq matte



(No Model.) 3 shets-sneet 1.

' 10. S. GARRETSON.

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR BESSEMERIZING- MATTE. No. 596,992. PatentedJan. 11, 1898.

WITNESSES: N

J M ("6:24 m INVENTOR- lv Q s f ATTORNEYS.

(No Model.) 3 SheetsSheet 2.

0. s. G'ARRETSON. METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR BESSEMERIZING MATTE.

NO. 596392. Patented Jan. 11, 1898.

WITH ESSES. @azym Hy W 4 d ATTORNEYS,

(No Model.) 3 SheetsSheet 3.

0. S. GARRETSON. METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR BESSEMERIZING MATTE.

No. 596,992. Patented Jan. 11,1898.

I jazenzor. m WZM J mm UNITED Sjr TEs PATENT FFEQEe omvsn s. GARRETSON.on BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

METHOD oFANo APPARATUS ros-se sesmseizmo MATTE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters E'stent No. 595,992, dated January11, 1 B95- r resent an n vemberle, 1396. Serial 1o. 611,987. (No model.)

To and whom/it may concern;

Be it known thatil, OLIVER S. GARRETSON,- a citizen of the UnitedStates,.residing at- B'ufialo, in the county of Erie and State of is aspecification.

This invention has reference to the treat mm of matte by the convertingorbessemerizing process. This process is now generally carried on inconverting vessels which are provided with a silicious liniug,vwhichfur- Irish es the silica. for the combination with the ironoxid producedby the action of the blast upon thegiron contained in the matte. Themotto is treated in these con verter's in a'charge eta time, and thelining is eaten away by each charge to. a certain extent, so that thelining is required to be renewed after a certain number of charges havebeen treated. The operetion of these converters is intermittent. Theslag is poured off by tipping the converter when the propervstage hasbeen reached, and the finished charge is finally poured out.

The converter is then ready to receive another c charge unless thelining has been eaten out .to such an extent that the converter requiresto he relined. The converter is then relined and dried, which operationsconsume considerable time and labor. My invention has f'orone of itsobjects to convert or bessemerize the matte one continnous operation, inwhich the silicions matter is supplied to the converter from time totime, as may be necessary to maintain the proper amount of siliciousmatter in the con- Verter, and in which the matte is supplied to theconverter continuously, or nearly so, so that fuel, consisting of theoxidizableingre. dients contained in. raw matte, is contin uouslysupplied to the charge in the coneerter.'--

lily-invention has for a further object the separationof differentmetals contained in complex ore or mattes by converting or beslemerizingthe matte successively in different communicating chambers orcompartments, whereby the metallic constituents of the ore or mattewhich are most readily precipitated are separated and deposited first,and other lollreadily-precipitated motels are seperetcd arranged onopposite sides of the furnace,

and deposited in the following compartment or compartments. 7 I

In the accompanying drawings, consistingof three sheets, Figurel is alongitudinal vertical section of a smelting-furnace which is providedwith twocommunicating convertin'g-furneces accordingto m y invention.Fig. 2 is a horizontal section in line 2 2, Fig. 1.' Fig. 3 is avertical sectionof a' detached converting-furnace by whichmy'iniprotfed' method of converting" or 'hessemerizing \can bepracticed. Fig. 4 is a horizontal 58011011 in line 4 4, Fig. 3. Fig. 5is afragmentary cross-section of the top of the furnace at right anglesto Fig.1 on an enlarged scale. Fig.

'6 is a sectional elevation, on an enlarged scale, of one of thegasrescape valves.

' Like letters of reference refer tolike parts in the several figures.

5 A represents a smelting or. main furnace,

which has a slag-outlet a; at one end or side and a matte-outlet b atthe opposite end or f side and which is preferably long'and narrow. Thebottom 0 ofthe furnace is prefer: ably slightly sloped from theslag-outlet toward the matte-outlet, so that the flow of the heavieringredients of the molten material is directed toward the matte-outlet.The lower edge of the matte outlet is preferably arranged on a slightlylower level than the lower edge of the slag-outlet. v

, 07, represents the tap-hole,th re ugh which the metal or metalliccompounds can he withdrawn from the bottom of the furnace when desired.t

E represents the twyers of the furnace, by which a blast suitable forsmelting is supplied, to the furnace and which are arranged above theslag-level in a common manner. The blastwhich is supplied to thesetwyers is preferably heated by any suitable heating apparatus, but Iprefer for that purpose the hot-blast apparatus which forms'thesubjectmatterof my application for Letters Patent filedOctoher 29, 1896,Serial No, 610,403. In

this hot-blast apparatus the blast is heated by the discharged moltenslag in a conduit F,

through which the slag is conducted by an endless carrier 9. The blastpasses from this conduit through two conduits G, which are wellknownmanner.

and from which. the twyers are supplied in a The .conduits G areprovided with valves g for regulating or shutting off the blast and withsuitable hand-- holes G and permitting the escape of the gases throughthe uptakes Ii. I

I represents the forche'arth orsettling-well, which receives the slagfrom the slag-outlet a of the furnace and which may be constructed inany suitable manner. I prefer, however, a forehcarth constructed asdescribed and claimed in my application for Letters Patent filedNovember 7, 1896, Serial No. (311,32h In this forehearth the bottom 2.is arranged practically .on a level with the bottom of the slag-outlet aof the furnace or slopcs slightly toward said outlet, so that matte orother molten metallic compounds which may settle to the bottom of theforev hearth flow back into the furnace.

z" is the slag-outlet of the forcl1earth,whlch outlet isarrangcd higherthan the slag-level.

of the furnace. The air-pressure in the furnaccdrivcs the slag to theoutlet of the forehearth, from which it"passcs to the slaginlet 7 of thehot-blast apparatus.

This pressure is maintained in the f u rnace,as is wellknown, becausethe stack of the furnace is filled with a column of ore and fuel,through which the blast must force its way in order to escape. Ifnecessary, the'forchearth maybe kept filled with charcoal, through whichthe slag is filtered before escaping and whereby any f urther valuescontained in the slagare filtered out or reduced. The forehearth may bepro vided with twyers J for supplying anto burn a part of the charcoalsuflicient to maintain the. heat which is necessary to keep the slagsufiiciently fluid,

K represents the pipe through which the gases escape from the forehearthand which is preferably connected with the forehearth immediately aboveits slag-outlet. I

L represents the bell or cover in the feedhopper Zof the forchearth.

M represents an upright converting-fu' rnace or bessemeriziug apparatuswhich is arranged adjacent to the matte-outlet b of the furnace andreceives the'mattc therefrom. M represents a second converting-furnacearranged adjacent to the first converting-furnace M andrcceiving thematte therefrom. Each of these converting-furnaces has its body composedof an upright water-jacketed column, stack, or shell m of cylindrical,prismatic, or other suitable form, and has a depressed bottom m,provided with a suitable tap-hole m".

The first converting-furnace M- is provided in the-side of its shellwith an opening 0, whichcoincides with the matteontlet b of the furnace,and on its opposite side with an opening 0', which coincides with jectedinto the molten matte.

the opening hof the second con\-'erting; furnace M. The openings h ooare made of sufi'icient area to permit of the free escape of the gasesfrom the converting-furnaces to the main furnace. Each of thecom'erting-furnaces may, however, be provided with a sup plementalgas-escape passage I, which leads to the uptake of the main furnace andwhich is closed by a weighted valve 1) of any suitable construction,(indicated by dotted lines inFig. 1,) so that the gases can-escapethrough this supplemental passage u po'n forcing said valve open should.their escape to and through the main furnace be obstructed. 'Each,of

these converting-furnaces is provided with twyers q, through which ablast suitable for converting or bessemerizing the matte is in Thesetwyers are arranged at such a height above the bottom of the furnacethat they'deliver the blast intothe zone occupied by the molten matte,which zone lies above the zone occupied by the metal on the bottom ofthe convertingfurnace and below the slag-level. The blast which issupplied to these twyers need not be heated and can be conducted to thetwyers by flexible pipes q. Each of these converting-furnaces may alsobe provided abovethe slag-levelwith twyers (1 through which anadditional air-supply maybe injected, if nec essary. der a sufficientlyhigh pressure to enable the blast to penetrate the molten matte, whichThe converting-blast is injected un- Y pressure may range from four to'five pounds or more per square inch, while the smeltingblast is injectedat a much lower pressure, which may range from one-half to one andone-half poundsz- A The bottom of each converting-furnace is arranged sofar below the matte-inlet opening 0 in the'side of the furnace that themolten metal or metallic compound which col-' lects on the bottom of theconvertin g-fu rnace will remain there and will not flow back to themain furnace or pass on to the next con-- ing sulfid ores in thepresence of a suitable flux, such as quartz, dioritc, die. The matteaccumulates on the bottom of the smeltingfurnaceand flows slowly towardthe first converting furnace and enters the same and passes from thefirst to the second convertingfurnace. The matte may become soconcentrated in the smelting-furnace that the metals which are.mosteasilyprecipitated, such as bismuth and lead, separatethemselvcsjrom through the tap-hole d.

whereby the. combustible ingredients--such tcnt burned out.

are. filled with a column of flux in lumps-f- .taining a largepercentage of silica.

teases a the matte-and collect on the bottom of the smelting-furnace.The metal which'is there depositedfis drawn off from. time to time Thebulk of the matte enters the first converting-furnace Maud is subjectedin the same tothe converting-blast,

as sulfur, iron, arsenic, rhc.-are to a large ex- Theconverting-furnaces such as quartz, diorite, or other mineral conweightof this column keeps the lower portion of the same pressed down into thelayer of matte, so that the iron oxid which is being formed in the matteby the oxidizing-blast'can come in contact with once is very complex,

the silica and combine with the same to a silicate, which forms aliquidslag. The latter rises to the surface of the-molten material and flowsback into the main furnace through joins the slag produced in the'mainfurnace.-

The matte which is treated in the first con jected to the action. ofa-converting-blast in the second converting-furnace, and the metal whichis precipitated in the second converting-furnace consists'largely ofcopper. If the ore which is being smelted in the main fur a third.converting-furnace may. be employed. When the matte flows successivelythrough several of these converting-furnaces, the metals contained inthe matte are separated to a greater or less extent and precipitated in,the several furtraces as alloys injy/hich one or the other metalpredominates. The slag which is formedin the second converting-furnaceflows back to I nace.

the first furnace and thence into the main fur- The slags formed in theconvertingfurnaces are comparatively rich and are compolled 'to passthrough the main furnace before they can reach the forehearth or finalslag-outlet.

is there in excess and the poor matte which is rich in sulfur. Thesulfur combines with the'metal and O'XldS carried by the slag and formstherewith matte, which joins the matte with the same to In this manner abeing formed, and returns the converting-furnaces.

' iio'wofmatte is kept up through themain furuace toward and through'theconverting-fun naccs andof slag from the converting-furnaccs to andthrough the main furnace. The slag which enters the forehearth parts inthe latter with any v ides which it may still con- The the openings 0 band t In passing through the main fur-' nace these slags encounter-thesulfur which tain and which return to the main furnace, while the slagis finally discharged in a practically clean state. The metal which isprecipitated in the main furnace and in the converting-furnaces is drawnoff from time to time through the tap-holes.

In the above-described method of conversion or bessemerizing theconverting-chamher is constantly supplied with fresh matte,

and as the latter carries in its constituents a sufficient amount ofoxidizable substances,

such as sulfur and iron, to serve as fuel in the converting orbessemerizing operation the latter can-he continued indefinitely withoutdanger of chilling for want of fuel. The supply of flux or silicais-also constant, or nearly so; as the column of flux in each convertingfurnace is replenished at the top from time to time, as may be required,so that the silicais always abundantly present for combination with-theiron oxid which is being formed. A water-jacketed furnace can thereforehe used in this converting process, as indicated in the drawings,because no silicious lining is required for furnishing the silicanecessary for forming slag, as in an ordinary converter.

' As the converting process is continuous and the/slag flows offcontinuously,a large amoupt of time and labor is saved, no handlingbeing required for supplying the matte or returning the slag to the mainfurnace for. treatmen t, it how g only necessaryto maintain the supplyof ore and flux and to remove the fiu- V,

ished product from time to time,

In some cases it may not be desirable to carry the process of conversionto' the extent I that metal is actually precipitated, but only farenough to concentrate or enrich the matte preparatory tofurthertreatment. This de pends largely upon upon localand other conditionsandcan be readily accoinp1ished,when desired, by prop.- eriy regulati,-,g, the converting operation.

My improveconverting or hessemerizing the nature of the ores and methodcan also be practicedwithout return ing the slag to the smelting or mainfurnace. In Fig. 3 is represented semeriing furnace M rial respectsconstructed like the convertingfurnaces M M hereinbefore described, butwhich is not directly connected with a smelting-furnace. Thisconverting-furnace is supplied with molten matte through a spoutu eithercontinuouslyorfroin time to time, as

maybe most convenient, andjthe liquid slag escapes through an outlet iteither'coutinuously or from time to time. The furnace is kept chargedwitha column of silicious materiai,.as hereinbefore described, whichmaterial is supplied through a door u? in the upper portion ofthefurnace, and the gases es cape through a pipe a discharged from thisfurnace must be treated a converting or has which is in all materTheslag which is 4 separately it it is suflicien'tly rich to warrant;r3d

such treatm ent. If necessary, a small amount of carbonaceous fuel maybe supplied to this furnace with the flux. If desired, the matte may besupplied to this furnace in lumps or pigs instead of in a moltencondition.

I claim as my invention 1. The herein-described method of converting orbessemerizing matte which consists in subjecting the molten matte to aconverting or bessemerizi'ng blast underneath a column of flux orsilicious material, substantially as set forth. 2. The herein-describedmethod of converting or'bessemerizing matte which consists in supplyingthe molten matte continue usly to aconvertingorbessemerizingchamberandsubjecting the matte to a convertingor bessemerizing blast therein underneath a column v of flux orsilioiousmaterial, substantially as set forth.

3. The herein-described method of converting or bessemerizing mattewhich consists in supplying the molten matte continuously to a from thesmelting-chamber to a converting or bessemerizing chamber, subjectingthe matter therein to a converting or bessemerizing blast underneath acolumn of flux or silicious material, and removing the slag continuouslyfrom said chamber,-substan'tially as set forth. 4. The herein-describedmethod of smelting and converting or bessemerizing matte which consistsin smelting the ore to produce matte, causing the matte to flowcontinuously separate cone verting or bessemerizing chamber, subjectingthe matte in the latter to a converting or bessemerizing blastunderneath a column of fiux or silicious material, and causing the slagto flow from said converting or bessemerizing chamber to saidsmelting-chamber, substantially as set forth.

5. The herein-described method of separating the metallic constituentscontained in complex ores or 'mat'tes which consists in smelting the oreto produce matte, causing the matte to flow from the smelting-furnacelntoseveral successive converting or bessemerizing furnaces, subjectingthe matte to having a stack adapted nace and is subjected converting orbessemerizing blasts in the latter ,and forming a fluid slag therein,causing furnaces to said smelting-furnace where the slag isacted upon bythe sulfur and sulfids before it is discharged from thesmelting-furnace, and posited metallic constituents separately from saidconverting or bessemerizing furnaces, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination with a smelting-furnace, of a separate converting orbessemerizing furnace having air-ports or twyers and having a stackadapted to hold flux, said 0011'- vertingfurnace communicating with thesmelting-furnace by a passage which is arranged in the lower-portions ofthe adjacent side walls of said furnaces and adapted to allow the matteto flow from the smelting-furnace into the converting-furnace and theslag to flow from the converting-furnace into the smelting-furnace;substantially as set forth.

-7. The combination with a smelting-furnace, of a separate converting orbessemerizing furnace having air-ports or twyers and to hold flux, saidconverting-furnace communicating with said smelting-furnace by a passagewhich is arranged in the lower portions of the adjacent side walls ofsaid furnaces and adapted to allow the matte to flow from thesmelting-furnace into the converting-furnace and the slag to flow fromthe converting-furnace into the smelting-furnace and a foreheartharranged at the opposite side of the smelting-furnace and receiving theslag therefrom, whereby the'slag formed in the converting-furnace iscompelled to flow through the smelting-furto the action of the sulfurand sulfids therein in passing to the forehearth, substantially as setforth.

Witness my hand this 10th day of November, '1896.

OLQIVER s. GARRETSON.

withdrawing the de--

